Policy Regarding Gifts to and Alliances with the Library System

Gifts to the Library

Authorization

Virginia Code 42.1-35 states in part: … the Board shall
have the right to accept donations and bequests of money,
personal property, or real estate for the establishment and
maintenance of such free public Library systems or endowments
for same.

The Board of County Supervisors, at its meeting December 21,
1955, … agreed that should anyone desire to donate land for
Library purposes and specifies that it should be titled in the
name of the Library Board and not the County, that the Library
Board should first come back to the Board of County Supervisors
and get its permission on whether the land so offered as a gift
should be accepted and that the same procedure should also be
followed whether the land is donated or to be purchased.

The Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable
organization established as 501(c)(3)
for the sole benefit of the Library.

Gifts to the Foundation are tax-deductible.

Library Director's Authority

The Library Director shall accept or reject gifts within the
scope and limitations established by the Library Board.

All gifts of books are to be handled at the discretion of the
Library Director. Appropriate notations may be placed on them
at the discretion of the Director.

The Library Board has sole authority to accept or reject any
gift. When accepting gifts from the Foundation or any other
source, the Library Director acts as the agent of the Library
Board.

Approval of the Board is required before accepting a
Foundation gift--either of money, which is unrestricted or
restricted--or of any other object or material. The Library
Director will inform the Chair when such a gift is
proposed.

If the gift is restricted, the Board Chair will refer it to
the Policy Committee. The Policy Committee will review the
matter and report to the full Board.

If the gift is unrestricted, the chair will refer it to the
Budget/Personnel Committee. The Budget/Personnel Committee will
review the matter and report to the full Board.

Appraisals

The Library will not assign any value.

For most donations, the fair market value is the donor’s
estimate of the donated item’s worth.

To establish extraordinary value, the cost of the appraisal
should be borne by the donor.

Expenditures

Library Gift Funds are those funds forwarded to Library
Administration by Friends Groups from their ongoing book sales
proceeds.

Unrestricted Library Gift Funds shall be spent for any
purchases designed to enhance operations of the Fairfax County
libraries.

The Library will pursue agreements with federal/state/local
agencies, industry, academia, and other organizations, to build
cooperative alliances which are beneficial to the Library.

Alliances must relate to the Library’s mission and be structured to
enhance a library program, service or product.

All alliances must be documented in a written "Alliance
Agreement" which clearly describes the specific goals,
activities and responsibilities of each partner. Each
agreement must include an appropriate timetable and a provision for
immediate cancellation by the Library.

Alliance agreements must be approved by the Library Board.

All alliance agreements shall be evaluated by the Library at the
end of each year, or at such other times as established by the
Library Board, and a written summary of the evaluation shall be
submitted to the Library Board by the Library Director.